If you aren’t proud of West Michigan’s performing arts, Grand Rapids Ballet’s MOVEMEDIA is a darn good reason why you should be. A tradition now four years in the running, MOVEMEDIA has earned the company a standout name in the dance community and attracted choreography submissions from five different continents.

An Impressionist exhibition draws high attendance; it’s a well-known movement in art history and the general public has become very familiar with it.

Though one must remember, even the now widely popular Impressionists faced a mixed reception when first emerging in the late 19th century. Their boundary-pushing work was described as “unfinished” by conservative critics of the time.

Audiences for I Love Lucy Live on Stage expect to enter an auditorium and watch. What they actually do is enter a time machine and join. Presenting Lucy for the first time live and in color, this special production whisks audiences back to the ‘50s, where they become the studio audience for the filming of two "I Love Lucy" episodes.

Sisters share a unique bond. From childhood through adult years, the relationship develops as we come to a deeper appreciation of both our similarities and our differences. We can learn a lot from each other, and at times help broaden each other’s perspectives, especially when in the context of that trusted familial environment.

Some movies are all about the details, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is one of them. As charming as the storyline is, it’s the addition of luscious artwork, ingenious songwriting and intricate characters that elevates the film to a masterpiece. Just try rooting for the Beast and Belle without falling for a talking candlestick along the way.

It’s no secret that we have a love affair with water in West Michigan. We choose to live in a state that, while the four seasons are beautiful, the winters can make less-hardy people question our sanity. But we know how much sweeter that makes the sunsets at Lake Michigan in the summer, how clear blue is the water and how soft the sand that makes zipping noises as you walk barefoot through it.

When it comes to annoying personality traits, most of us would place arrogance near the top of the list. There’s just something about a stuck-up, snooty demeanor that seems to grate on almost everyone’s nerves.

Contemporary art at its best surprises you. It offers you something you haven’t seen before and often alters your perspective. Wired & Wrapped: Sculpture by Seungmo Park, opening Dec. 20 at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA), promises to do just that.

ignoring most venues and social graces for two straight days, my trusty photographer and I excitedly combined our favorite annual art contest with our favorite not-so-annual contest of drinking too much. We accomplished very little of our original intents, but saw anything worth seeing — according to us.